Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Professor Wu Dayou, the director of the Department of Physics at Southwest Associated University, chose Tsung-Dao Lee, which surprised everyone and caused a lot of controversy. You know, the Department of Physics at Southwest Associated University not only had senior students who were about to graduate, but also graduate students, people like Yang Zhenning who had already gone to the United States, and even a number of young teachers who graduated and stayed on campus.

Tsung-Dao Lee was born in Shanghai, China in 1926. When the war between China and Japan broke out, Lee was only eleven years old.

Due to the invasion of the Japanese army, the Chinese people lived in dire straits during the war, and like most of his peers, Li Zhengdao found it difficult to obtain a good basic education.

Moreover, the uniqueness of Li Zhengdao lies in that not only did he not receive a good basic education in primary and secondary schools, he did not even graduate from primary school, middle school, or university. In other words, when he was a student, Li Zhengdao only obtained a doctorate degree at the end.

This may sound incredible, but it does not mean that Li Zhengdao did not receive rigorous scientific training. On the contrary, with his tenacious perseverance and extraordinary talent, Li Zhengdao has made efforts and gained more than his peers at every stage of learning.

From 1935 to 1937, Li Zhengdao attended elementary school in Shanghai. On November 12, 1937, the Japanese army occupied Shanghai, and Li Zhengdao was forced to drop out of school. From 1938 to 1941, Li Zhengdao attended middle school in the Shanghai Concession, an "isolated island" during the war.

However, after the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, on December 8, the Japanese army occupied the foreign concessions in Shanghai, which led to the complete fall of Shanghai, and Li Zhengdao dropped out of school again.

Because Li Zhengdao was determined to study and he could not tolerate the brutal behavior of the Japanese army in Shanghai, he decided to leave Shanghai and arrived in Jiangxi Province after a long journey. He studied at Ganzhou United Middle School. During this period, Li Zhengdao insisted on self-study under extremely difficult conditions and served as both a teacher and a student.

Afterwards, before graduating from high school, Li Zhengdao went to Guizhou Province to take the college entrance examination. He was admitted to Zhejiang University, which had moved to Meitan, Guizhou Province to avoid the war. On the way to Guiyang, Li Zhengdao fell ill, suffered a lot and almost died.

After entering Zhejiang University, Tsung-Dao Lee was fortunate to meet his first mentor in life, Professor Shu Xingbei.

Li Zhengdao originally was admitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering of Zhejiang University, while Shu Xingbei was a professor in the Department of Physics of Zhejiang University. One month before the start of the university term, Li Zhengdao had the good fortune to meet Professor Shu Xingbei, and Li Zhengdao soon met another professor in the Department of Physics of Zhejiang University, Wang Ganchang.

Shortly after entering Zhejiang University, Tsung-Dao Lee transferred to the Department of Physics to study. It was thanks to Professor Shu Xingbei's help and influence that the door to physics was opened for Lee.

Because the relationship between teachers and students at Zhejiang University was harmonious and academic discussions were very free, the teachers' words and deeds subtly influenced the sixteen-year-old Li Zhengdao.

In fact, Li Zhengdao had a very unclear understanding of engineering and science. Later, after gradually having more contact with two physics professors, Shu Xingbei and Wang Ganchang, Li Zhengdao gradually understood the significance and importance of physics, and physics became very attractive to him.

At the end of 1944, the Japanese army began to invade your province, which caused panic among the people of your province. At the same time, Zhejiang University's operations also came to a halt due to the Japanese invasion.

Due to the extremely inconvenient transportation, during the summer of 1944, Li Zhengdao went to Shancheng with Professor Shu Xingbei and reunited with his family in Shancheng. Finally, Li Zhengdao followed Professor Shu Xingbei's advice and prepared to transfer to Southwest Associated University.

When Li Zhengdao said goodbye to Professor Shu Xingbei in Shancheng, Professor Shu Xingbei gave Li Zhengdao a famous book on electromagnetism written by Jones, which was used by Jones when he was doing research with Professor Darwin at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, England.

Although Li Zhengdao only studied at Zhejiang University for one year, under the careful guidance and subtle influence of famous teachers such as Professor Shu Xingbei and Professor Wang Ganchang, Li Zhengdao has already gained a certain understanding of physics as a whole. In particular, the one-on-one discussions and studies with Professor Shu Xingbei stimulated Li Zhengdao's enthusiasm for physics research.

In the spring of 1945, with a deep love for physics, Li Zhengdao transferred to the Department of Physics of Southwest Associated University as a sophomore after being introduced by someone.

One day in the spring of 1945, a chubby boy who was less than 20 years old suddenly came to the head of the Physics Department, Wu Dayou, with a letter of introduction. At that time, it was exactly the middle of the school year, and new students could not transfer without passing an exam.

Therefore, Wu Dayou, the director of the Department of Physics at Southwest Associated University, discussed with several teachers of second-year physics and mathematics courses at Southwest Associated University to allow Li Zhengdao to attend lectures and take exams with the class. They also agreed that if Li Zhengdao passed the exams, he would officially transfer to the second year during the summer vacation and be exempted from taking previous courses.

Southwest United University can be regarded as a miracle in China's modern and contemporary educational history, especially its physics discipline which is first-class.

Although the material conditions of Southwest Associated University were difficult due to the war, the university was home to a large number of famous teachers and a strong academic research atmosphere. Under the influence of teachers such as Ye Qisun, Wu Youxun, Rao Yutai, Zhou Peiyuan, and Wu Dayou, the Department of Physics of Southwest Associated University insisted on conducting teaching and research with an eye on the forefront of world science and was full of vigor and confidence.

The Department of Physics at Southwest Associated University, which was home to many great masters, was a natural fit for Tsung-Dao Lee, and his gifts and abilities soon emerged.

Li Zhengdao's diligence and talent also surprised Professor Wu Dayou, the director of the Department of Physics at Southwest Associated University, who called Li a "genius" of Chinese physics.

Lee was more than capable of handling the courses at the Department of Physics of Southwest Associated University. Moreover, Professor Wu Dayou, the director of the Department of Physics of Southwest Associated University, quickly discovered that Lee's quick thinking was far beyond ordinary people from the steps and methods he used to solve problems.

Although Li Zhengdao spent only one year in the Department of Physics of Southwest Associated University, his talent and ability were already revealed.

In the autumn of 1945, the Chinese government's atomic bomb plan and "Seed Plan" were officially launched. Professor Wu Dayou, director of the Department of Physics at Southwest Associated University, was allowed to take two young assistants to the United States to study atomic technology. These two assistants were personally selected by Professor Wu Dayou, director of the Department of Physics at Southwest Associated University.